Isaiah 3:17-26: a reflection

17therefore the Lord brings sores on the crown of the head of the women of Zion, and the LORD will make their scalps bald.” 18In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, the headbands, the crescent necklaces, 19the earrings, the bracelets, the veils, 20the headdresses, the ankle chains, the sashes, the perfume containers, the charms, 21the signet rings, the nose rings, 22the fine robes, the capes, the cloaks, the purses, 23the hand mirrors, the fine linen garments, the tiaras, and the shawls. 24It shall happen that instead of sweet spices, there shall be rottenness; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of well set hair, baldness; instead of a robe, a wearing of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty. 25Your men shall fall by the sword, and your mighty in the war. 26Her gates shall lament and mourn. She shall be desolate and sit on the ground.

In a hard word of judgment on the proud, Isaiah pictures all the fine adornments and finery in which they took pride being stripped away, exposing how fleeting such outward beauty is. In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, the headbands, the necklaces, the earrings, the bracelets, and all the finery, Isaiah says; instead of sweet spices there will be rottenness, instead of well-set hair, baldness, instead of beauty, shame. The passage lists item after item of outward adornment, the fine ornaments and beautiful things in which pride was taken, and shows them stripped away. It is a sobering reminder that outward beauty and adornment, in which people take such pride, are fleeting and can be taken away. This shows the fleeting nature of the outward adornment in which we take pride. Outward adornment and beauty, prized so highly, are fleeting. The finery in which we take pride can be stripped away. Do not put your confidence in outward beauty, which passes. Outward adornment is not a secure ground for pride.

Notice the point beneath this hard word. The passage dwells on the many adornments, the ornaments, jewelry, fine garments, and beautiful things, in which pride was taken; and it shows them all being stripped away, replaced by their opposites. The point is not that beauty or adornment is evil, but that outward beauty and finery are fleeting, insecure grounds for pride. Those who took their pride and confidence in these things found how quickly they could be lost. This holds a caution for us. We can take our pride and confidence in outward things, in our appearance, our adornment, the beautiful and impressive things we surround ourselves with, treating them as a secure ground of our worth and standing. But these outward things are fleeting; beauty fades, finery wears out, appearances change and can be taken away. To build our pride and confidence on them is to build on what is passing. Our true worth and standing are not in outward adornment, which fades, but in things that do not pass: our standing before God, the beauty of a heart devoted to him. We do well not to put our confidence in outward beauty and adornment, which are fleeting, but to seek the inward and lasting. Do not build your pride on outward beauty and adornment, which fade. Outward finery is a fleeting, insecure ground for confidence. Seek the inward and lasting, not the outward that passes. Your true worth is not in appearance, which can be taken away.

That is worth taking to heart, for outward beauty and adornment, in which we may take pride, are fleeting and can be taken away, and we do well not to build our confidence on them but to seek the inward and lasting. We can take our pride and confidence in outward appearance and finery, treating them as a secure ground of our worth; but Isaiah pictured all such adornment being stripped away, showing how fleeting it is. Outward beauty passes. Do not put your confidence in outward beauty and adornment, which fade; seek instead the inward beauty and the standing before God that do not pass. Do not put your pride and confidence in outward beauty and adornment, which are fleeting and can be taken away, but seek the inward and lasting, as Isaiah, in a hard word of judgment on the proud, pictured all the fine adornments and finery in which pride was taken being stripped away, item after item of ornaments and beautiful things, replaced by their opposites; for the point is not that beauty or adornment is evil but that outward beauty and finery are fleeting, insecure grounds for pride, and those who took their confidence in these things found how quickly they could be lost, which holds a caution for us, since we can take our pride and confidence in outward things, in our appearance, adornment, and the impressive things we surround ourselves with, treating them as a secure ground of our worth, but these are fleeting, since beauty fades, finery wears out, and appearances change and can be taken away, so that to build our pride on them is to build on what is passing, while our true worth is not in outward adornment which fades but in things that do not pass, our standing before God and the beauty of a heart devoted to him, so that we do well not to put our confidence in outward beauty but to seek the inward and lasting.

Lord, in a hard word of judgment on the proud, Isaiah pictures all the fine adornments and finery in which they took pride being stripped away, exposing how fleeting such outward beauty is. In that day the Lord will take away the beauty of their anklets, the headbands, the necklaces, the earrings, and all the finery, Isaiah says; instead of sweet spices there will be rottenness, instead of well-set hair, baldness, instead of beauty, shame. The passage lists item after item of outward adornment in which pride was taken, and shows them stripped away. It is a sobering reminder that outward beauty and adornment, in which people take such pride, are fleeting and can be taken away. Show me the point beneath this hard word. The passage dwells on the many adornments in which pride was taken, and shows them all stripped away. The point is not that beauty is evil, but that outward beauty and finery are fleeting, insecure grounds for pride. Those who took their pride in these things found how quickly they could be lost. This holds a caution for me. I can take my pride and confidence in outward things, in my appearance, the beautiful and impressive things I surround myself with, treating them as a secure ground of my worth. But these outward things are fleeting; beauty fades, finery wears out, appearances change and can be taken away. To build my pride on them is to build on what is passing. My true worth is not in outward adornment, which fades, but in things that do not pass: my standing before you, the beauty of a heart devoted to you. Take that to my heart, for outward beauty and adornment are fleeting and can be taken away. Keep me from building my pride and confidence on outward beauty and finery, which fade; help me seek instead the inward and lasting, Lord, the beauty of a heart devoted to you and my standing before you, which do not pass, rather than putting my confidence in appearance that can be taken away.